9 Helpful Benefits Students Get From Summer Classes


Last Updated on June 14, 2021 by David Shaw

summer classes

Summer season is approaching and students are surely debating between taking classes or having a break. If you ever had difficulties finding good reasons to take summer classes, here is an article on the benefits of Summer classes that students can get out it.

I personally enjoyed Summer classes for various reasons and the benefits perks they can offer, and here are among the best reasons to take Summer classes in my opinion.

You Can Graduate Earlier

If you’re planning to graduate early or wish to do so, Summer class is a perfect opportunity to take on a few credits to obtain that Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree quicker. Unlike other typical semesters, Summer classes usually don’t have a minimum unit or class requirement, offering students extra flexibility and freedom in choosing the classes they want. Besides benefiting from graduation early, you get to leverage the short class duration during summer classes. Summer class typically last anywhere from 6-10 weeks compared to a typical semester or quarter of 10-15 weeks

You Benefit from Smaller Classes

small classroom

A smaller class means a smaller student-faculty ratio. In a class with fewer students, it offers lecturers the ability and opportunity to focus on the wellbeing and progress of students in a class. Other than benefiting from a more interactive learning experience, it leaves more opportunities for students to approach lecturers during their office hours. When communication and feedbacks are well received between students and lecturers, any suggestion of coursework adaptation can be easily met to satisfy the needs of students.

Furthermore, in a small class that encourages participation, you get to know every classmate well and wind up making more friends towards the end of the course.

Less Cumulative Exam material

Given the fact that the duration of Summer classes is significantly shorter, it serves students a huge benefit from a less cumulative midterms and finals examinations. Lecturers usually make changes to the Summer coursework by cutting back on class materials due to time constraints in delivering lectures, which makes examinations less cumulative. In fact, this is among the main factors many students prefer to take certain classes offered in Summer.

For instance, especially for higher-level STEM sequence courses like Calculus, students like to use Summer classes to get over with it quickly. I took a Biology class during a Summer session and most of the coursework materials were reduced to accommodate for a lesser number of lectures delivered. In return, the trade-offs I get for accelerated lectures are easier midterms and final papers with reduced questions compared with other semesters and I was glad I did it over the Summer.

Finish A Difficult Class Quickly

If you find certain classes which have a course sequence like Calculus difficult, perhaps you should consider taking them during Summer classes. Like any other difficult class with a course sequence, you can take these classes during the Summer to benefit from its short course duration.

I personally don’t enjoy taking Calculus classes, so I personally made use of Summer sessions to clear 2 out of 6 required math classes for my major. Comparing the courseload when I took it in Summer to other semesters, it was a breeze as lectures were shortened and exams were easier.

Alternatively, you can use this opportunity to clear out easy general educations classes required for your degree course which tends to also work out well for students.

You Can Easily Get Internship Offers

student internships

Summer is the season where big to small companies offer internship opportunities for college students to gain practical working experiences. To chance upon good internship offers is golden, Summer classes also offer good opportunities to help connect you with potential employers looking for interns at their company. Internship durations are usually short and offered all throughout the quarter. Students can find internship opportunities through a lecturer’s recommendation or your university’s connections with other companies during the summer.

Big tech companies across the US and Silicon Valley like Google and Amazon are known to offer more internship positions compared to other big names in the industry. Regardless, any internship application is always worth the try.

Alternatively, Handshake is a great website designed for students looking for job or internship listings. Handshake is the leading career platform to connect university students with employers founded by 3 alumni at Michigan Tech University to combat the inequality in career opportunities for students across the US.

Save Money From Cheaper Tuition Fees

save money on tuition fee

Given the fact that tuition fees are cheaper at community colleges compared to universities, students can save money on tuition fees by taking classes from community colleges and transfer the credits over to their current university.

If you plan on saving money from tuition fees, taking articulated classes offered in other community colleges is a great option. Your university will most like accept transfer credits for a particular class if it’s articulated at another community college. The best way to find out is to check with the community college’s website or your academic counselors.

Back when I was taking a Discrete Mathematics class during Summer in a community college, several of my classmates were undergrads from the University of California and other public institutions. To my surprise, they all shared their intention for this decision was to save money on tuition fees. With no compromise of lecture quality, they not only get to save money but also transfer the credits back to their respective universities and graduate earlier.

Chance to Study Abroad

study studying abroad

Many universities or colleges offer Study Abroad Summer programs where they take students to explore a country while still offering classes to earn credits. This is a perfect opportunity to learn about a country’s history or culture if you love traveling and history.

Not only will you enjoy traveling while earning credits, but also make many friends from all over the world. I personally know that my college offered Summer Abroad Program in the Philippines where they offered English, Literature, and Humanities classes to earn credits alongside with program. If you have yet a solid plan for a productive Summer, what better way to spend it than joining a Summer Study Abroad program by a university?
If your university does not offer one in the upcoming Summer, try finding a study abroad program using GoOverseas.

Learn A New Popular Subject

Popular introductory subjects like Computer Science, Business, or Communications and many more are offered all year round in a college or university. However, these popular classes are often fully enrolled before it gets to your turn to register. In other cases, others prefer enrolling in a popular class like Economics taught by their desired professor hence Summer is a good time to try your luck registering for these classes. As most students are on Summer breaks, it results in low demand for classes, offering better opportunities and chances for students to reserve a spot.

In the end, you get to learn a new subject as well as enjoy the other half of summer break which is still a reasonably long holiday to catch a break from classes and exams.

Get Letter Of Recommendation

Like we’ve mentioned earlier, university or college lecturer’s schedules are often on a looser schedule as they have lesser students to handle. The best way to get a good recommendation letter is by establishing a good relationship with your professor. This circumstance opens up the opportunity for students to get closer to their professor while working on classwork or labs.

When you work closely and establish a stronger relationship with your professor, it is easy to request a letter of recommendation from your professors. Not only will your professor gladly agree to your request, but they can also produce a more personal and in-depth recommendation letter which makes it stand out for other institutions or companies.

Related Questions

Do Summer Semesters have a minimum credit requirement? Summer semesters at a university or college typically don’t have minimum credit requirements for taking classes. With that said, students are allowed to register in just one single class while maintaining their status as full-time students compared to other typical semesters.

Are Summer Classes Shorter in Duration? Summer classes are often half or lesser than the duration of a typical semester or quarter. They normally span between 5-10 weeks which is significantly shorter than a typical semester.

Are Summer Classes cheaper? Tuition fees for Summer classes at a particular university won’t likely be cheaper compared to other semesters. However, you can always take Summer classes offered at a different college with cheaper tuition fees, while transferring back the earned credits toward the transcript of your current university’s degree program.

David Shaw

I enjoy blogging about the college experience, teaching people how to navigate and hack their way through college. I also enjoy promoting financial literacy among young individuals.

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